Believe Midwifery Services
118 West Main Street
Thorntown, IN 46071
ph: 765-436-7527
fax: 765-436-7114
Practice Statistics
Believe that life is sacred.
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. ...Touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. FREDERICK BUECHNER
Believe Midwifery Services, LLC opened its doors during Nurse Midwifery Week in October of 2007. Penny Lane MSN, CNM caught the first baby, Joseph, in February of 2008. The statistics below incorporate each and every client who has entered care with Believe Midwifery Services, LLC to the date indicated.
Little Charles bug born safely at home in March of 2011
Several prospective analyses of the outcomes of planned homebirths have described reasons for transfers from home to hospital before and after onset of labor at term (Ackermann-Liebrich, Voegeli, Gunter-Witt et al, 1996; Davies, Hey, Reid & Young, 1996; Wiegers, Keirse, van der Zee, Berghs, 1996; Murphy & Fullerton, 1998; Janseen, Lee, Ryan, Etches, Farquharson, et al. 2002; Johnson & Daviss, 2005). The large majority are nonemergent conditions.
Transfer Rate during Antepartum Period 7%
Updated 3/2009
Antepartum transfers are those that occur during the pregnancy, prior to the initiation of labor. Reasons for an antepartum transfer might include fetal growth restriction, placenta previa, uncontrolled hypertension, preterm or an acute emergency like an automobile accident.
The above studies found the rate of antepartum referrals for obstetric reasons for women who intended a planned homebirth to range between 10% and 20%.
Transfer Rate during Intrapartum Period 3%
Updated 3/2009
Intrapartum transfers are those that occur after the onset of labor, yet prior to the birth of baby. Reasons for an intrapartum transfer might include preterm labor, fetal stress, and obstetrical emergencies which are the rare exception in non-interventive births.Of women how reach term without medical complications, the above studies, demonstrated a 5% to 10% referral rate among homebirth practices. The most common reason sited by researchers for transfer from home to hospital once labor has started is failure to progress.
Transfer Rate during Postpartum Period 2%
Updated 3/2009
Postpartum transfers are those that occur when mother experiences complications after the birth of her child. These might include a postpartum hemorrhage, retained placenta, postpartum preeclampsia, infection, or a third/fourth degree perineal laceration.The same authors found a 1% postpartum maternal referral rate. Believe Midwifery Services has had a drastic reduction in postpartum transfer since asking women to step out of the tub for the birth of the placenta. Some do birth in the spa, but if after counting fingers and toes, the placenta has yet to birth, we do encourage transition to land.
Transfer Rate for Newborn Care 0%
Updated 3/2009
Newborn transfers can occur anytime during the first six weeks of life, as our midwife continues primary care for the newborn throughout that time. Reasons for a newborn transfer might be an emergent need such as respiratory distress, infection, or a birth defect, but it might also be a complication that occurs days or weeks following birth. These reasons might be elevated jaundice levels, umbilical infections, respiratory infections, and/or dehydration.The above studies indicated a 1% neonatal referral rate from home to hospital.
Cesarean Rate from Intrapartum Period 0%
Updated 3/2009
This rate is specific to those cesareans that occur following our immediate management during the labor process and more accurately reflect our practice style. Clients of Believe Midwifery Services, LLC, however, have experienced cesareans after self-selected transfers from our practice for various reasons, such as breech presentation and post-dates.
Breastfeeding Rate at 6 Weeks 92%
Updated 3/2009
All of our mothers initiate breastfeeding. We have great concern for the breastfeeding success of our clientele. Barriers to obtaining pharmaceutical treatment for mastitis has negatively impacted our outcomes, yet with continued growth of our practice and development of firm and supportive relationships, this is no longer a barrier for our families. We have high hopes that each and every one of our mothers will succeed in breastfeeding beyond the child's first year, weaning when most optimal for the couple.
Samantha Rain
Practice Comparisons
The vast majority of central Indiana hospitals average cesarean rates above 30%, with a handful exceeding even 40%. Maternal mortality has risen each year for the last nine years, almost doubling in the last ten years.
This demonstrates a lack of safety in the hospital environment for the healthy birthing couple.
Contact us Today!
We welcome your questions and queries. Please see our Contact Us page for complete contact information.
Because we are too short, too tall, too thin, too small of foot, too old, too young, too wide, and our pelvises are too narrow, too small, too untried, or unproven or the wrong shape, and our uteruses are too scarred, or pointing the wrong way, or we are too multiparous, too fertile, too infertile, too female, too small, too big, too fat, too emotional, too detached, too strong, too weak, too intelligent, too well designed to birth, not designed well enough, and our vaginas are too scarred, too unproven, not stretchy enough or too stretchy, and we’re too inconvenient, too unpredictable, too demanding, too informed, too loud, too messy, and our bodies labour too long or not long enough, and our cervices don’t dilate 1 cm an hour on command and because when you hire a surgeon you get surgery and hospitals are for sick people… and so for these and many other reasons, we are part of the homebirth movement.
Olivia Shannon
born in water, first time mother, on May 1st, 2011 weighing 7lbs, 3.5oz
Believe Midwifery Services
118 West Main Street
Thorntown, IN 46071
ph: 765-436-7527
fax: 765-436-7114
